1 Dec 2017

Russian Orthodox Church Revives Blood Libel, Claims Romanov Royals Killed in Ritual Jewish Sacrifice
In an “absurd” continuation of age-old blood libels, the Russian Orthodox Church is pushing forward a claim that Nicholas Romanov II, the last tsar of Russia, and his family were killed in 1918 as part of a Jewish ritual murder. On Monday, a conference was held in Moscow’s Sretensky Monastery presenting the initial findings of an investigation into the execution of the royal Romanov family almost one hundred years ago. According to Bishop Tikhon Shevkunov, many church leaders have no doubt the murders were part of a Jewish ritual.

‘This is wild,’ USGS says of Dover 4.1 earthquake
A 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck Kent County late Thursday afternoon. The quake struck about 7 miles northeast of Dover Air Force Base at 4:47 p.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was originally labeled magnitude 4.4 before the USGS lowered the scale of the temblor. The Delaware Emergency Management Agency believes the epicenter was in Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. “There are no reports of damage or injuries at this time,” DEMA spokesman Gary Laing said.

Strong earthquake, 6 mag has occurred near Kerman in Iran
An earthquake with magnitude 6 (ml/mb) was detected on Friday, 58 kilometers (36 miles) from Kerman in Iran. Global date and time of event UTC/GMT: 01/12/17 / 2017-12-01 02:32:46 / December 1, 2017 @ 2:32 am. A tsunami warning has not been issued (Does not indicate if a tsunami actually did or will exist). Event ids that are associated to the earthquake: us1000bjnz. Id of event: us1000bjnz. Exact location of event, depth 10 km, 57.3306° East, 30.7652° North. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 km (6 miles). The temblor was detected at 06:02:46 / 6:02 am (local time epicenter).

151 UN states vote to disavow Israeli ties to Jerusalem
The UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to disavow Israeli ties to Jerusalem as part of six anti-Israel resolutions it approved on Thursday in New York. The vote was 151 in favor and six against, with nine abstentions. The resolution came as the Trump Administration was rumored to be actively considering relocating its embassy to Jerusalem.

IAF fighter jets fire on terrorist positions in central Gaza Strip
IDF tanks and aircraft fired at six targets in the Gaza Strip on Thursday after Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired a barrage of 12 mortar shells toward an army outpost. Calling the firing of the projectiles a “serious attack,” IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Ronen Manelis said the projectiles were aimed at the IDF post and a cement factory on the northeastern edge of the Gaza Strip where construction crews are working on Israel’s new underground border barrier.

Pakistan attack: Gunmen storm Peshawar training college
Gunmen have stormed a college in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least nine people and injuring 36. At least three men disguised in burkas arrived in a rickshaw and entered the Peshawar Agriculture Training Institute on Friday morning. All of the attackers were also killed, the army said. The Pakistani Taliban said they had carried out the attack.

Israeli soldier stabbed to death in ‘terror attack’
A soldier has been stabbed to death in southern Israel in what police say was a suspected terror attack. Sgt Ron Isaac Kukia, 19, was killed at a bus stop in the city of Arad on Thursday night. Security forces are searching for at least one attacker. The attack comes amid an increase in tension, after a Palestinian was shot dead by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank earlier in the day.

Supreme Court’s cake case pits gay rights versus Christian faith
When conservative Christian baker Jack Phillips in 2012 politely but firmly told Colorado gay couple David Mullins and Charlie Craig he would not make them a cake to celebrate their wedding, it triggered a chain of events that will climax on Tuesday in highly anticipated U.S. Supreme Court arguments. Phillips contends the U.S. Constitution’s free speech guarantees protect him from making a cake that would violate his religious beliefs against gay marriage.

Vaccine Maker Warns Dengue Vaccine Can Cause Severe Dengue
Vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur announced Wednesday that a dengue vaccine already distributed to hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren could instead cause more severe cases of the disease in people who were not already infected.

Trump’s About to Repeat the Mistake of Bush and Obama in the Israeli-Arab Conflict
…Together with his son-in-law Jared Kushner and other key officials, Trump has been putting together a proposal for kickstarting Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. The plan is said to put far more emphasis on normalization of ties between Israel and the broader Arab world, but apparently continues the failure of taking seriously Palestinian obstructionism.

Lawyer Seeks to Block DWS Hard Drive
A court date for a former Democratic IT aide has been postponed by more than a month after the defendant’s attorney, a former Hillary Clinton aide, said he’s seeking to block prosecutors from using evidence that appears to include a government laptop tied to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Christian Cross removed from a famous child hero’s hat to “not insult other religions”
A Belgian national health insurance company removed the Cross from the hat of “Sinterklaas” in a colouring picture that was distributed. The Christian Cross was replaced by a circle. According to the company this was done to “not exclude a single child” and because the “feast is no longer religious, but a feast for all the children, no matter of which religion they are”.